Summer is approaching, and we can almost guarantee it will be a more enjoyable one than last year! But summer brings with it some major electrical challenges for a home. Households use enormous amounts of electricity during summer. For some homes, such as those that rely on gas-powered heaters, summer may have higher electricity use than winter—and the hotter the summer, the more electricity consumption rises.
We’re experienced with dealing with summer electrical problems. Below we’ve listed a few of the most common electrical troubles you may run into this summer.
General power overloads
Summer is a big test of the electrical system in a home, when more appliances are put to use than ever. (We’ll get to the big electricity consumer, the air conditioner, in a second.) If your house is running into regular problems with tripping circuit breakers this summer, it may be telling you that your electrical system is outdated and needs upgrades, such as a new electrical panel or rewiring.
The AC keeps tripping the circuit breaker
The compressor in your air conditioning system uses more electricity than almost any other household appliance, using on average 3,500 watts per hour of use. Because you rely heavily on your AC during summer weather, it may trip the circuit breaker at some point. Usually, you can simply reset the breaker. But if this keeps happening, there’s a problem. The first people to call are your favorite HVAC pros to see if the issue is with the AC. If it isn’t the air conditioner, there’s another electrical concern in the house, possibly with the electrical panel, and you’ll need to call our electricians to find a solution.
The AC causes lights to flicker
This is another air conditioner usage problem, but in most cases this doesn’t have anything to do with the AC itself but with the electrical system. If you notice the lights in your house flicker whenever the air conditioner’s compressor comes on (this is the component that uses the most electricity), it means a power surge in the electrical system. We recommend you call us right away to see what’s wrong—there may be wiring repair issues or electrical panel problems that must be addressed, or you’ll soon have breakers tripping regularly.
Brownouts and blackouts
The high electrical demands of summer place immense strain on the power grid, leading to brownouts and blackouts. A brownout is when the power company restricts voltage flow to homes, which means a house with less power that will experience dimming lights. A blackout is a full, unintended power outage. If you notice signs of a brownout, we recommend you reduce electrical use as much as possible and unplug sensitive equipment.
If you want to protect yourself from both brownouts and blackouts, we strongly recommend having a whole-house generator installed. These are great preventive devices for summer, and our team installs the best models.
Help is here!
You can rely on our licensed experts for any electrical upgrades, electrical audits, or electrical repair in Buffalo, NY to help make this summer an easy and fun one.
Scherer Electric is Western New York’s Favorite Electrician! Call us to handle any summer electrical problems you may have.
